Francis e



jf/7, l

(No Model.) l

F. E. MILLS.

' BOAT. l No. 590 ,845. Patented Sept." 28, 1897.

i nearrthe bow to the stern and arranged to UNITED STATES PAIIENTl IFRANCIS E. MILLS, OF IITASI'IING'IOX, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 590,845, datedseptember 2s, 1897.

Appiimiontied. Juiy 9, 1ste. serial No. 598,550. (No moiie'i.)

placed or distributed that the center of v gravity of the boat and cargolshall be nearly over the center of the straight portion of theentirebottoin. When constructed and loaded (1.7/ f7/,out if '/l/,r/,l/(foncer/b: 1 Le it known that I, FRANCIS E. MILLS, of Washington, iiitheDistiict of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in 5Boats, of which the following is a specifica-- tion.

The object of the invention is to construct a boat or water-eraf t ofsuch forin thatin movi ing forward it will lift itself Ato .the surfaceIo and aided by the #02's inertia of that fluid will, swiftly glide oi'iicochct'upon the top of the water.

To this end it consists of a boat Whose botu toin is. astraight lineextending from a point ing less buoyancy and displacing less water lowerand gives the `entirebottom iloorfconsiderable inclination downward andbackward, and this is essential to its proper ac 6,' tion. v A

Operation-s If while in thispositionthe boat` is movedforward by ahorizontal impulse, the

.- its center'of gravity lifts the entire boat, (not rd.mo' the forni ofa broad tail whosetransversc section increases it is made to mount thesurlo tion occupies a horizontal plane and lies sub- 1 merged inthewater wheuat rest, but causes the boat to riseto the surface and glideoi' ricocher thereupon after the manner of a' toboggan-sled or skippingstone when in rapid 'inotion, as hereinafter fully described.

igure l is a sideview of my boat when at rest in the water. Fig. 2 is aside view when in rapid motion. Fig'.r 3 is a side v iew showing arear-deck extension and provision forA 3o backing. Fig. 4 is avertical-erosssection through line et 4 of Fig. and Fig.v 5 is a peringthrough andvdisplacing the water. I The foregoingdescription covers themost 75 essential features of the craft and all that are shown -in Figs.vl and 2, but Afor the entire safety,`convenience, and comfort of thoseriding inthe boat some other accessories are Phe form of the boat willbe readily undeicheck to prevent any sudden rush of water 3 5 stood byreference to theaccompanyingdrawagainst the submerged tail when it iseoni- 85 ings. Its bottoni A is. broad, lflat, and. level pelled to stopwhile traveling downstream or in its cross-sections, and with theexception in backing; third, side fins to produce an of a sliort upwardcurve at the bow is longiair-cushion between tliericochetting bottomvlly straight to the vextreme rear' end. and the water in order torelieveit of any un- 40 Its sidesi B are vertical and parallel. Whenpleasant liol-ting or jar. i

loaded andstationary, asi'IiaFig, 1, theforward As a su pport to the`floor B2 of a rear deck portion o theboat, which sustains th'e loadextending considerably above the surface of It l t necessary that these95 eluded, covers abouttwo-thirds the entire sides be water-tight. Thedeck, however,

inclined bl ttoni under water, constituting a act as a buoy to preventthe rear end of the' in this manner, the rear end of the craft,havnearly'equalareas of the inclined bottom and 65 face, .as in Fig. 2,and sustained by the fuis 7o. inert/a of that H ui'd glides or ricochetsover desirable, which 'I will now describe, to Wit: 8o

5o submerged tail. ,The load should'be so craft from sinking lowerthandesirablewliile roo 2 sede/i5 lying' inrough water, Then in motion,the entire craft is 'on the top oi the water,` but on stopping the rearend sinks down gradually to the position shown in Fig. l. This in stillwater causes no incon venieuce, but should it be compelled to stopsuddenly while descending a rapid stream the forcible rush ot' therunning water against the inclined tail might carry it down so far as tothreaten the sub- 1o mergence of the entire boat, and to guard againstthe possibility of any such resultI provide a 'backwater-check, (seeFig. 3,) which is simply alight pendent lapD, hinged to the rear end ofthe floor ot the rear deck, 1 5 long enough to reach across the boat andwide enough when hanging vertically to reachthe end of the submergedtail. This flap works automatically. lt opens outwardly when the waterflows olf the tail in starting and closes 2o against the end of vthetail when it tends to rush inward either from the flow of the current orin backing. It is not intended to entirely exclude the water, (notclosing up wa- 4ter-tight,) but simply to eh eck a violent rush z5 ot alarge body of running water against the inclined stern. l

In smooth water the boat will have a slight rising and falling or gentlyundulating motion which will not be unpleasant; but should the 3osurface be a little rough it might sometimes come down so hard upon thewater as to cause a disagreeable jolt or jar, and to relieve it of thisI attach to each side of the boat, extending its whole length, (see Fig.4,) a rigid strip ,5 b of thin metal, its lower-edge reaching downvertically into the water a few inches below the bottom. vI call theseside ins. They are fastened firmly to the outer sides of the boat withscrews. The object of these iins 4o is to prevent the air being forcedou*U sidewiseA from under the bottom'as the inclined door descends uponthe water in ricochetting, thus furnishing 1t practically with anair-cushion.

The same result, to some extent at least, can

be securedby dispensing with these side tins and snbstituti n g elasticcushions for the seats of the passengers.

The entire bottom of lthe craft, including the submerged tail, is maderigid' by lapering longitudinal ribs ci., firmly fastened to its upperside, the under side being left smooth. Relative dimensions-As the craftis not intended to displace the water in running, but the water isexpected to displace and sus- 5 tain the boat, the 'highest results inspeed will be attained by placing the greater-dimension of the bottomtransversely to the line of .motion for the following reason: When inmotion the loaded plane is con- 6o stantly encountering and bearing downupon anew section of water that lies entirely quiescent and whoseinertia resists the tendency of the superincumbent weight to dash itsuddenly downward out of its quiescent position. It may be movedgradually,` but not instantaneously. It requires time as well aspresvglide over that area 4l' claim, and desire to secure sure todisplace' the body of water underneath, and (as we do not wish todisplace it) the less time the area of the plane occupies in passingover anequal area of the water the less tendency there will be todisplace it and the more perfectly its fois inertia will be utilized.For examplehould the dimensions of the bottom be eight by Jfour feet(giving an area of thirtytwo square feet) if we place the longerdimension transverse to the line of motion it will of water in one-halfof the time and have only half the tendency to sink that-it would if thenarrow end had been placed forward. rThis principle is seen illustratedin sailing birds, relatively narrow in the direction of flight and longtransversely.l I-lence,whenever the nature of the service required ofthis cra-lit permits of it l make the dimension of the bottom in thedirection of the line of motion eonsiderably less than its transversedimension, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 5.

rhe boat is to be guided by arudder, placed either at the bow or stern,and is to be driven by any suitable power, and whenever desired it maybe supplied with a thin centerboard and sails and driven by the wind.

Though this -form of craft is peculiarly adapted for light and swifttraveling, by giving it the proper dimensions and rigidity it may beemployed for heavyvcargoes and driven by power. It is designed mainlyvfor use on inland waters. There are many thousand miles of rivers onthis continent and all over the world now utterly unnavigable by reasonof their shallowness, which could be made attractive and busythoroughfares of travel and commerce by the employment of these boats.

Having thus described my invention, what by Letters Patent, is

portion made buoyant andthe rear portion made as a submergeable tailarranged to bear iatwise upon the water, the said rear and frontportions being rigidly connected together with a continuous bottom line,substantially as and for the purpose described.

. 2. A boat or water-craft having at the lower part of its rear end atail substantially horizontal in cross-section, and having anoverhanging rear deck. with side pieces extending to the rear end of thetail and provided with a hinged door or iiap forming a backwater'-check, substantially as and `for the purpose described.

3. A boat or water-craft having a fiat bottom provided at its rear endwith a tail substantially horizontal in cross-section, and provided alsowith downwardly -projecting vertical blades or fins along the edges ofits bottom, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4:. A boat or water-craft having a iiat bottom extended beyond the sternin the form their wings being l. A boat or water-craft having its frontIOO

